How to Set Your Fees When You're Just Starting Out

There's no line item in law school called "figure out what to charge." You graduate, pass the bar, and then — often within weeks of opening your practice — someone asks what your fees are, and you have to give an answer.

The stakes feel enormous. Charge too little, and you're working unsustainable hours for income that won't support a practice. Charge too much before you've built a track record, and you lose clients to more established attorneys. Most new attorneys respond to this uncertainty by guessing — and guessing low, because it feels safer.

It's not. Here's a more systematic approach to setting fees when you're just starting out.

Why New Attorneys Undercharge

The tendency to undercharge isn't irrational — it comes from several reasonable-sounding impulses that, left unchecked, can undermine a practice:

• Imposter syndrome. Without a long track record, many new attorneys genuinely doubt whether their services are worth market rates. They're not — yet. But the question is whether to price for where you are or where you're heading, and the answer is usually somewhere in between.
• Fear of losing clients. Lower fees feel like a competitive advantage. In some cases, they are. But clients who choose you primarily because you're the cheapest option are rarely the clients who sustain a practice long-term.
• No benchmark. Without visibility into what other attorneys charge, new practitioners rely on instinct — which usually pulls toward the low end of the range.
• Confusing accessibility with sustainability. There's a genuine value in keeping fees accessible when you're building a book of business. But a fee structure that doesn't cover your actual costs — time, insurance, technology, overhead — isn't accessible. It's a path to burnout and practice failure.

What the Market Actually Looks Like

Attorney fees vary enormously by geography, practice area, experience level, and client type. A family law attorney in rural Kansas and a commercial litigator in New York City are not pricing the same service in the same market.

That said, there are useful reference points. State bar surveys frequently publish attorney billing rate data, broken down by practice area, years of experience, and region. The American Bar Association publishes periodic surveys. Legal billing software companies (Clio, PracticePanther) release annual reports with rate data. These aren't exact answers, but they give you a defensible range to work within.

The more important data is local. What do attorneys at your experience level charge in your market for your type of work? This is harder to find in published form — which is exactly why peer networks are so valuable.

Fee Structures to Consider

New attorneys sometimes assume that hourly billing is the default and everything else is exotic. In practice, fee structure depends heavily on practice area, client type, and what your market expects:

Hourly billing

The most common structure for transactional and litigation work. The advantage is that you're compensated for all time spent, regardless of outcome. The disadvantage is that it can create tension with clients who don't want to pay for uncertainty. For new attorneys, hourly billing requires disciplined time-tracking and clear communication about billing practices upfront.

Flat fees

Common in estate planning, immigration, transactional work, and certain criminal matters. Flat fees benefit clients who want cost certainty and benefit attorneys who work efficiently. If you're faster than average at drafting a will or a straightforward contract, a flat fee rewards that efficiency. If you're slower (as new attorneys often are at first), flat fees can hurt you. Price them accordingly.

Contingency fees

Standard in personal injury, workers' comp, and some employment matters. You receive a percentage of the recovery — typically 33% — and nothing if the case doesn't resolve in the client's favor. Contingency work requires cash flow management, since payment is deferred, but it lowers barriers for clients who can't afford to pay upfront.

Retainer arrangements

Clients pay a set monthly or quarterly amount for access to your services, often with an agreed scope. Common for ongoing business clients who need regular legal advice. Retainers create predictable revenue and ongoing relationships, but they require clear scope agreements to avoid scope creep.

How Peer Networks Help You Calibrate

The most reliable way to understand what rates the market will bear is to talk to attorneys who practice in your area and serve similar clients. This doesn't require awkward direct conversations about what colleagues charge — it happens naturally in the context of professional relationships where people share information about practice management.

Attorneys who are part of active professional networks — bar associations, practice area groups, referral platforms — have a built-in ongoing reference for what's normal in their market. They hear what colleagues charge, what clients push back on, and where the market is moving. Attorneys who practice in isolation don't have this advantage.

Overture connects attorneys across practice areas and geographies, creating the kind of peer network where this kind of professional exchange happens organically. You're not asking for a salary comparison — you're building the kind of professional relationships where practice management questions, including pricing, come up naturally over time.

Raising Your Rates as You Build Experience

Your starting rate is not your permanent rate. One of the most important disciplines for a new attorney is committing to regular rate reviews — annually, at minimum — and actually implementing increases when they're warranted.

Many attorneys undercharge for years not because the market won't bear more, but because they've never had a systematic process for revisiting their fees. Every year of experience, every successful case outcome, every new skill represents additional value that should be reflected in what you charge. Build the habit of reviewing and adjusting early.

The Bottom Line

Fee-setting isn't a one-time decision — it's an ongoing practice management discipline. Start with research, set fees that reflect realistic market rates for your area and experience level, choose a fee structure that fits your practice type, and build the peer relationships that give you ongoing market intelligence.

If you're looking for a professional network of attorneys who can serve as a reference point for practice management decisions — including how you price your services — join Overture for free. Connect with peers across practice areas who are building sustainable practices and are willing to share what works.